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Re: Free will Vs Predetermination

From the Bhakti List Archives

Maruthi Pavan • August 5, 2002 


Dear Sri Raghunandan,
Your sentences below throw light upon the much disputed paramatma svarUpam and rUpam ( the outward look ). Pardon me for digressing into a different topic.
"He has the
swatrantryam to punish each jivatman for the deeds
[karma] he does but at the same time because of his
daya considers small good deeds of the jivatmans as
big deeds and based on the same provides us with
better environment in the subsequent janmas [better
environment is nothing but sadacharya samashrayanam,
bhagavata samparkam etc]."
This I am writing because, I was thinking abt this, only yesterday, from the discourses of my master and my discussions with my father.
There is a well-known dispute ( though not in this list ) about the svarUpam of the supreme, whether it is a male or a female.
Forgetting the rUpam ( or the outward form - That supreme power can manifest itself in any form to the seeking devotee ), let us concentrate on the svarUpam of the supreme or let us concentrate on the basic attributes to this svarUpam.
A feminine quality represents pAratantryam. It need not be taken as subbordinance, but it actually means, living according to the wishes of loved ones. A women form stands as an example to this. She, in her childhood, lives in accordance with the wishes of her parents, then according to the wishes of her husband, then according to the wishes of her children. A mother, out of extreme love to her children, does not try to stop them or hurt them. If a child insists on getting something, she procures it for the child. She does what is priyam to the child. She also acts as a puruSha kAram.
A masculine quality represents svAtantryam.  A father, out of extreme love towards his child, tries to correct him, by punishing him or by not giving him his likings, if they are harmful to him. If for example, a person is having a heart disease and is afraid to go to a hospital, fearing the suffering there or due to lack of faith in the doctor, there may be two possibilities here, if I am his care taker :
1) I may leave him like that, as I love him dearly and cannot see his suffering in the hospital.
2) I predict the imminent danger, scold him, give him courage, and if required, drag him forcibly to the hospital which gives him the best treatment and get him cured of his disease.
( Though the first possibility here, can be a cause of a dispute, I have given it as a mere example. )
The second one is hitam to the suffering one. In this context, I am not giving importance to the appearence of the Lord ( in masculine or feminine form ). It is the quality which is more important. For example, in some homes, mother does the hitam to the child and father, the priyam. We see some men having feminine qualities, like being too shy etc and some women having masculine qualities, aggressive natured etc. A good house is one, in which one of the mother or father is aggressive and the other is supportive towards the children.
The supreme controller, should have both the love of a mother and a father. But, the controlling factor or the aspect of the supreme which does hitam to the child should be slightly in excess of the priyam part. Otherwise, the erring child will never be corrected. So, though there is a free-will given by the almighty to us, the excercise of the controlling power and the svAtantryam is a must. It is the predominance of this controlling or svAtantryam aspect of the Lord, which makes the Lord, Him.
Srinivasa on the seven hills depicts this clearly. He is the father, with the mother on his chest. She has taken the most appropriate place and forces Him to give us, our likings. He gives them to us, but at the same time, He gives our wishes to us, in such a way that they do not harm us. In the mean time, we sometimes loose patience, which is bad.
Thus paramAtma svarUpam can be best explained to be having the form of our Sriman Narayana. As you go close and close to the paramAtma, you realize Him, with all His kalyANa guNAs and having the mother in His Heart ( Sriman Narayana ). This the complete form of the Lord, adored by all our AAcharyas and Alwars.
Jai Sriman Narayana
Maruthi Ramanuja Das.
 



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